QUESTION: In Iraq, please. Today Prime Minister al-Maliki said
he would not step down from his post until the Iraqi judiciary rules on
whether or not his constitutional challenge to the process should go
forward or not. I’m wondering if you all have any idea of how long this
process might take as it speaks to some concerns people have raised
about whether he will try to run out the clock on the 30 days he now –
that designate al-Abadi has.Also I’m wondering if you were able to get an answer to my question
yesterday as to what level of confidence does the U.S. have in the Iraqi
judiciary system.MS. HARF: A couple issues, and then we’ll – I’m sure you’ll
have follow-ups. The comments made by the prime minister today were
similar to ones he’s made in recent days, quite frankly. And as I said
yesterday, with all political systems there will be differences with how
certain processes unfold. We never expected this to be completely
seamless, but the United States firmly rejects any effort to achieve
outcomes through coercion or manipulation of the constitutional or
judicial processes.And then look, I don’t want to get ahead of the constitutional
process that’s underway. We just began the 30-day time clock for the
Prime Minister-designate al-Abadi to form a new government. They are
moving along with that process. So we will watch day by day as that
plays out, but Prime Minister-designate al-Abadi is moving forward as
part of this process, and that’s what we’ll be focused on in the coming
days.QUESTION: So you don’t believe this court challenge that Maliki is posing is going to be slowing that 30-day clock in any way?MS. HARF: Well, look, the prime minister-designate is the one
who is in charge of what happens during the 30-day clock, and he’s
working actively towards that. And again, we would reject any efforts by
anyone to use the judicial processes to manipulate or coerce the
outcomes here. But there is a separate process and it’s the
constitutional one, and that’s moving forward.QUESTION: How is it that the designate has control of the clock when Maliki is still the prime minister?MS. HARF: Well, he has control of the clock. What I meant was
the progress that can be made in the 30 days to form a new government is
in the hands of the prime minister-designate, who has the support, as I
said over the last few days. He was nominated by the Shiite bloc,
including many members of Prime Minister Maliki’s own party.So we’ve seen these kind of comments from the current prime minister
before, but separate from those comments there is a process under the
constitution that is moving forward. And we expect that to move forward
and we will continue watching what happens in the coming days.QUESTION: Do you have any expectations of how long this court appeal will last?MS. HARF: I don’t have any guess on that.QUESTION: May I just follow up on that? I mean, his words were
very critical of the United States, today – Maliki’s speech. He
basically said that you espouse democratic values but you go ahead and
sabotage the democratic process. What do you have to say to that?MS. HARF: Well, the Iraqis have their democratic process
that’s underway right now, and that process has led to a new prime
minister-designate being named by the current prime minister’s own bloc.
So the process is playing out how it should. Again, we knew this would
not be without complication. Nothing ever is – certainly not here in
Iraqi politics. But their own democratically, constitutionally outlined
process has been ongoing and that’s what’s happening right now.QUESTION: I know that you warned against manipulating whatever
legal process in the courts or whatever to sow divisions and so on in
Iraq. Has anyone talked to the prime minister personally to say refrain
from doing that because you’re driving the country further into the
abyss?MS. HARF: We’ve certainly had conversations with a range of
leaders, including Prime Minister Maliki, emphasizing, Said, that this
is a key, critical time in Iraq on the security front, on the political
front – they are very closely intertwined – and that nobody should do
anything to prevent the progress that’s laid out under the constitution
from taking place and from moving forward. Nobody should.QUESTION: Mm-hmm.MS. HARF: We’ve certainly had those conversations.QUESTION: Okay. Now, as we – Iran, Saudi
Arabia, Turkey, they all welcome the prime minister-designate Haider
Al-Abadi, but Maliki still has some support within the Shiites. He has
some support within some, like, militant type of militias and so on. Are
you concerned that he actually might resort to violence?MS. HARF: I don’t want to venture to guess on that
hypothetical, Said. There’s a process in place and that process is
moving forward. What’s key here is that the President asked the prime
minister-designate to name a government. This was the designate that his
own bloc, Prime Minister Maliki’s own bloc selected. So I think that
should speak very clearly about the support that Prime
Minister-designate al-Abadi has. And, again, the process is moving
forward.

It would be something wonderful if we could see people rejecting an urge
to insult the dead. (I am not attacking women who engage in sex work.
I am noting that prostitute is a huge pejorative in Iraq and dead women
who can't defend themselves shouldn't have prostitute tied around their
dead necks solely because a group of men -- who killed them -- have
labeled them whores.)

I'm not interested in running down violence. Monday night, I noted a
death and offered Tuesday might be the last snapshot. The friend I
dictated it too wisely pulled that. But a friend died this week and it
really makes me question the point of online life.

Statement by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on the Passing of Robin Williams

The entire Department of Defense community mourns the loss of Robin
Williams. Robin was a gifted actor and comedian, but he was also a true
friend and supporter of our troops. From entertaining thousands of
service men and women in war zones, to his philanthropy that helped
veterans struggling with hidden wounds of war, he was a loyal and
compassionate advocate for all who serve this nation in uniform. He will
be dearly missed by the men and women of DoD - so many of whom were
personally touched by his humor and generosity.